When using the describe map, students describe the characteristics, features, or attributes of the central idea.
How to use a Describe Map
Ask students to describe the central topic (its parts, its appearance, etc). To improve the students' outcomes give them clues about the characteristics in the form of words (sentence starters or questions) or visuals.
Why use a Describe Map?
To enable students to explain aspects of the topic in detail. The describe map is an important lead in to the classify and compare and contrast maps, because students must be able to describe one thing before they can group it or compare it to other things.
Junior Syndicate - Student Exemplars
Middle Syndicate - Student Exemplars
Senior Syndicate - Student Exemplars
We are learning to describe a toy.
We are learning to describe a hero.
We are learning to describe space.
A Year 1 description of a doll that belongs to their teacher. The teacher gave the students visuals to help them identify different characteristics. Each student in the class took a photo of the doll and used Kidpix to label the dolls features.
A Year 2 and 3 class are learning to describe the actions and qualities of a hero they know personally. This student used the words kind, caring, loving and good role models to describe why her parents are heroes.
A Year 6 student's description of space.
The students also described an older doll. The two dolls will be used to teach the Compare and Contrast map later in the unit.
Students in the Middle Syndicate wrote cinquains to describe some of the dinosaurs they had been learning about.
A Year 2 class used a Describe map to label the characteristics of a rugby ball.
Students in Year 2 used the describe map to describe meat eating dinosaurs.
The Year 2 students then used the describe map to look at plant eating dinosaurs. The students now have the knowledge to compare meat eating and plant eating dinosaurs.
What is a Describe Map?
When using the describe map, students describe the characteristics, features, or attributes of the central idea.How to use a Describe Map
Ask students to describe the central topic (its parts, its appearance, etc).To improve the students' outcomes give them clues about the characteristics in the form of words (sentence starters or questions) or visuals.
Why use a Describe Map?
To enable students to explain aspects of the topic in detail. The describe map is an important lead in to the classify and compare and contrast maps, because students must be able to describe one thing before they can group it or compare it to other things.their teacher. The teacher gave the students
visuals to help them identify different
characteristics. Each student in the class
took a photo of the doll and used Kidpix to
label the dolls features.
A Year 2 and 3 class are learning to describe the actions and qualities of a hero they know personally. This student used the words kind,
caring, loving and good role models
to describe why her parents are heroes.
A Year 6 student's description of space.
two dolls will be used to teach the Compare and Contrast map later in the unit.
Students in the Middle Syndicate wrote cinquains to describe some of the dinosaurs they had been learning about.
A Year 2 class used a Describe map to label the characteristics of a rugby ball.